Judge rules in favor of historic town's fight against developer

MINDEN, Nev. - A judge ruled Wednesday in favor of a tiny, historic Nevada town's efforts to determine the size of commercial buildings on its main street.

Douglas County District Judge Dave Gamble said county commissioners erred in endorsing plans for a two-story inn and retail complex in downtown Genoa, which claims to be Nevada's first town.

The judge told commissioners to return the proposal to Genoa's Historic District Commission which can determine whether the size of the project is appropriate.

Developer Bettie Kanelos wants to build a 12,280-square-foot, 32-foot-high building. While that's not large for many communities, it would dwarf most buildings in Genoa - especially the town church next door, which is a tenth the project's size.

The town firehouse is now the largest building on Genoa's main street, at about 8,000 square feet. The next largest structure is an old courthouse, later a school and now a museum. It's half the size of Kanelos' project.

Gamble instructed county commissioners to tell the historic board ''that it may consider the size of the building, as the size affects the proposed structure's outward appearance and its congruity with the community.''

The commissioners had been advised by their legal counsel that the historic panel's earlier opposition to the project amounted to illegal zoning because it focused on the size of the structure.

But attorneys Jeff Dickerson and Sue Trimmer, representing project opponents, had argued that the historic board has clear-cut legal authority to review exterior architectural features of proposed structures and make sure they're not ''obviously incongruous.''

John Henningsen, who organized the opposition to the project, hailed Gamble's ruling and said it ''clears the way for a political consensus'' between county officials and the town.

Henningsen said three of the five county commissioners shared the town's concern about the size of Kanelos' project, but only one sided with the town while the others went along with their legal counsel's advice.

''We're happy that the judge said the decision-making process should be led by the local historic board in determining the appropriateness of the building,'' he added.

Kanelos, who moved to the area a few years ago from Southern California, sees her project as a way to revitalize the downtown - and avoid a big tax bite by reinvesting money made on a sale of other property.

She angered some locals by saying historic buildings on Genoa's main street - treasured, much-photographed remnants of a town that started up in 1851 - are ''old and junky.''

About 400 people live in and around Genoa, and opponents got signatures of nearly 200 people on a petition against the project.